Celebrating fathers

My father and I used to go horseback riding, skating on the ponds and just driving around to different events in Manitoba. He would help me with my homework even if he had a hard day at work. He was important to me.

In my late 30s I started working on my family’s genealogy. This made me wonder how did Father’s Day become Father’s Day?

Some believe Father’s Day started with the honouring of fathers over 4,000 years ago. In Babylon a young boy named Elmesu carved a Father’s Day message on a piece of clay wishing his father a long and healthy life.

The next theory was about a young girl named Louise whose mother passed away during childbirth when she was only 16. The affection she received from her father, a Civil War veteran who took care of her, the newborn and five other children, gave Louise Smart Dodd of Washington the idea that her father needed a special day. She decided to take action after hearing a Mother’s Day sermon at her church.

She began a campaign for the cause of Father’s Day and her hard work began to bear fruit when Spokane celebrated its first Father’s Day on June 19, 1910. With the support of the Spokane Ministerial Association and the YMCA, it was decided to use Louise’s father’s birthday, June 5, but they did not have enough time to prepare for the day so they ended up choosing the third Sunday of June.

We should all give thanks for everything that our fathers do for us and give them something they deserve. Those wanting to be generous can get their father a great gift, but a homemade card, a great big hug and a thank you for being there is all that he needs.